97 / 118
S u m m e r F i e l d s
2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6
93
2nd XI
It is a privilege to be allowed
to take this team and I
enjoyed the season as much
as any, despite some fairly
disagreeable weather.
Whilst matches were not particularly
affected (only the Lambrook game was
cancelled), practice time on the square
was restricted. Our nets are excellent but
it is really not the same as being out in
the middle, where fielders can practise
concentrating and batsmen can focus on
rotating the strike and hitting the gaps. This
latter skill was our one serious shortcoming
this season. The nets encourage big shots
but these really aren’t needed that often in
matches.What works best is partnerships
where both batsmen are looking to keep the
score ticking along at a reasonable rate. Too
often we had situations where ‘in’ batsmen
were stuck at the non-striker’s end whilst
players new to the crease were repeatedly
playing and missing, trying to hit their first
over for successive boundaries. The art of
the nudge and the nurdle did not develop
this season, so we tended to have some
quite low-scoring encounters despite the
talent available.We were good in the field,
however, with a wide range of effective
bowling options and excellent catchers, so
it was often possible to win without scoring
many runs.
The team was ably captained by
Callum
Lloyd
(who also took 6 catches) and by
Christian Oberschneider
(4 catches) when
Callum was needed by the 1st XI.We were
also very lucky to have
Fred Prickett
to take
care of fielding positions; an extra pair of
eyes is always useful during a long afternoon
in the field.We tried a few opening batting
partnerships but the one that emerged as
most effective was
Marcus Ovey
and
Patrick
Murray
. They were both keen to get forward
and both made match-winning contributions.
The revelation of the season was Prickett
at three who, especially at Caldicott (31),
provided some much needed maturity to our
youthful batting line-up.
George Palin
did
well at Moulsford (40) in support of Ovey
(69) and
Kit Henderson
was very reliable in
the middle-order, finishing with the second
highest total of runs for the season. It would
be unfair to forget Oberschneider’s blistering
52 in thirty-seven balls against Cheam;
it was one of the great moments of the
season performed in front of a packed Salata
Pavilion.
Our bowling was consistently strong with
tidy opening spells from
Joseph Menell
,
Murray and Lloyd, whose 5 overs for 5 runs
against Cothill made it very hard for them to
get back into the game.
Sebastian Howland
took three wickets at Moulsford and Cothill
and
Albert Sitwell’s
4 wickets at Elstree
and 3 at Caldicott (away) were decisive in
those victories. The Caldicott game also saw
Prickett’s leggies hitting their mark with
3-13 from five overs that turned the game
in our favour. Through all of this two other
bowlers were quietly plugging away with
too little recognition of their achievements;
Christopher Gujadhur’s
eight wickets
came at just 9.75 and Palin, the season’s top
wicket-taker, picked up his ten wickets for
only 74 runs. It was all the more impressive
as they were invariably asked to bowl
towards the end of the game when the
pressure was at its highest.
That I can produce such detailed statistics
is down entirely to our amazing scorer,
Christopher Orr
. There has never been a
season with so little controversy between
the on-field umpires and the score box. He
was amazing and it was a huge relief to be
out in the middle with nothing to think
about apart from counting to six and trying
not to make too many awful umpiring
decisions. I was also supported as ever by
the coaching squad of JJP & OJSB to whom
I am immensely grateful. Special thanks go
to Mr Fairhead, who devoted much time
to working with the team, especially with
Henderson’s wicket-keeping. Mrs Darling
did an amazing job as always ensuring that
the boys walked out onto
the pitch looking
immaculate, and I
was delighted by
the high calibre and
sportsmanship of our
supporters - it makes
a huge difference.
Finally I would
like to thank the
boys for making
the season so
enjoyable and
setting next
year’s 2nd XI such
a high bar to
clear.
HCTR
2nd XI
Opposition
Result
Runs
Details
For Against
Caldicott
Lost
112 113-4
Henderson 41
Moulsford
Won 183-4 146-9
Howland S 3-21, Ovey, 69, Palin 40
Lambrook
Cancelled
Elstree
Won
80
81-8
Henderson 25, Sitwell 4-10
Ludgrove
Lost
105-9
73
Howland S 3-16, Ovey 30
Cothill
Won 95-8
91
Caldicott
Won 99-6
92
Murray 34, Pricket 32 & 3-13, Sitwell 3-19
Dragon
Lost
95-7 99-7
Cheam
Drew 170-9 142-5
Oberschneider 52*, Ovey 30, Prickett 25